Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4785766-20170829171219/@comment-31673087-20181208123901

I always saw it in a similar way. That is, Vergil is motivated by the death of their mother to be strong enough to make sure he doesn't lose a loved one in the same way he lost his mother, while Dante takes the opposite aproach and does what he can to make sure others don't lose loved ones the way he did. His goal was more selfless, but ultimately was similar to Vergils selfish desire for power. It's ultimately why he surpases both his brother and his father.

Vergil refuses to acknowledge his human side, seeing humans as weak, while Dante at first refused to really acknowledge his demon side. His saying he doesn't have a father during his fight with Vergil is his denial of his demon side. Dante ultimately reaches a balance, acknowledging both halfs of himself, while Vergil doesn't. By allowing himself to feel love for others he allows himself to fully grow and become as strong as he does. Vergil is strong, but had he lived it's unlikely he would have gotten to the point Dante did simply because he can't let himself truly let other people in because humans do that and humans are weak and his father did that and he died.